After the Chernobyl accident in 1986, Dr. McConnell made 40 trips to the Ukraine and Belarus where much of the fallout landed. There he helped to care for and study the effects of radiation exposure on tens of thousands of people exposed to nuclear fallout, including approximately 25,000 children. He is considered one of the world’s foremost experts in radiation-induced thyroid cancer.

Laurie Chabot, RN, has worked with patients in the Division of GI/Endocrine Surgery since 2008, and prior to that, in other divisions at NYP/Columbia. She is well versed in the concerns that patients have before thyroid surgery. In this post, she shares the most common questions she discusses with her patients every day.